Installation and replacement. The company you're matched with sizes a new
system from a load calculation on the house, not the tonnage on the old nameplate, and quotes it
in writing before anything is ordered. The City of Tucson requires a permit for a new or replacement AC, heat pump or furnace, with load and sizing calculations. The licensed contractor pulls it. A replacement in a house of this age should be sized from a fresh load calculation, and it is worth testing the original ducts at the same time. If TEP is your utility, ask whether the company you're matched with is a participating contractor in TEP's Efficient Home Program, which pays instant rebates as listed by TEP in October 2026.
Heating. At about 2,700 feet, Tucson is valley-floor desert where Pima County's code winter design temperature is 35F, so heating duty is light. A heat pump is the sensible default here: the area needs about 2.6 cooling degree days for every heating degree day, so the same unit does the cooling you need anyway.
Maintenance. A tune-up before the first 100F day covers the coils, refrigerant
charge, electrical connections, capacitor and condensate drain, and a second look after the
monsoon clears the dust. Original ductwork in houses of this age is worth a leakage check; ENERGY STAR says a typical forced-air house can lose about 20% to 30% of the air moving through its ducts.
Check any contractor's license with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors at roc.az.gov. Residential air conditioning and heating work falls
under the R-39 class. The service pages below go straight to the job you need.
